The purpose of this empirical study was to present a detailed description and interpretation of what happens in schools to beginning teachers who are prepared to enact reform‐based practices in mathematics and science. The focus was on a select sample of graduates from the Maryland Collaborative for Teacher Preparation [MCTP], a statewide reform‐based undergraduate teacher preparation program funded by the National Science Foundation. Interpretative research methodology was used to conduct a cultural case study of the beginning teachers' first 2 years of practice (first year, N = 5; second year, N = 3). We documented differential experiences and perceptions of the beginning teachers from both inside (emic) and outside (etic) perspectives. Documented discussion centered on an analytical framework suggested elsewhere. Findings were framed in two components: the individual's intentions, needs, and capabilities; and the institutional demands, affordances, and constraints. The major insight was that the beginning teachers' perception of their school culture was a major factor in whether reform‐aligned mathematics and science teaching was regularly implemented by the beginning teachers. In instances where the beginning teachers' perceived that their school cultures offered a lack of support for their intent to implement reform‐based practices the beginning teachers exhibited differing social strategies (resistance, moving on, and exit). Therefore, to sustain reform (and, by extension, to retain beginning mathematics and science teachers), a key implication is to place additional attention on the use of the school culture perspective to improve teacher preparation and induction experiences. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 720–747, 2004

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Teachers' use of inquiry has been studied largely without regard for the disciplines in which teachers practice. As a result, there is no theoretical understanding of the possible role of discipline in shaping teachers' conceptions and enactment of inquiry. In this mixed‐methods study, conceptions and enactment of inquiry for 60 National Board Certified Science Teachers (NBCSTs) across the secondary science disciplines of biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics were investigated. A situated cognitive framework was used. Through the analysis of portfolio text (n = 48) and participant interviews (n = 12), themes emerged for participants' conceptions and enactment of inquiry. Findings suggested that disciplinary differences exist between NBCSTs' conceptions and enactment of inquiry. Furthermore, individuals teaching in more than one discipline often held different conceptions of inquiry depending on the discipline in which they were teaching. A key implication was the critical importance of considering the discipline in understanding science teachers' varied conceptions and enactment of inquiry. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 96:48–77, 2012

There has been a growing concern in higher education about our failure to produce scientifically trained workers and scientifically literate citizens. Active-learning and research-oriented activities are posited as ways to give students a deeper understanding of science. We report on an undergraduate teaching assistant (UTA) experience and suggest that students who participate as a UTA obtain benefits analogous to those who participate as an undergraduate research assistant (URA). We examined the experiences of 24 undergraduates acting as UTAs in a general microbiology course. Self-reported gains by the UTAs were supported by observational data from undergraduates in the course who were mentored by the UTAs and by the graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) with whom the UTAs worked. Specifically, data from the UTAs' journals and self-reported Likert scales and rubrics indicated that our teaching assistants developed professional characteristics such as self-confidence and communication and leadership skills, while they acquired knowledge of microbiology content and laboratory skills. Data from the undergraduate Likert scale as well as the pre-and post-GTA rubrics further confirmed our UTA's data interpretations. These findings are significant because they offer empirical data to support the suggestion that the UTA experience is an effective option for developing skills and knowledge in undergraduates that are essential for careers in science. The UTA experience provides a valuable alternative to the URA experience.

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